San Francisco mom facing criminal charges after abandoning drug baby

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No interest: After Nneka Nash’s early-morning delivery Wednesday, she sought help at the Providence Church Shelter, but left when workers told her they were calling 911.

A new mother is facing criminal charges for reportedly abandoning her baby boy — who tested positive for cocaine — early Wednesday after delivering him on a rain-soaked Bayview district sidewalk.

Nneka Nash, 39, of San Francisco is expected to be arraigned this afternoon on a felony count of willful cruelty to a child and a misdemeanor count of failure to provide care to a child, according to prosecutors. The boy was taken by Child Protective Services, police said.

After handing off the just-under 5-pound newborn to a man in the street, police said, Nash split. The child was unresponsive, but two responding officers have been credited with saving his life. He is making a miraculous recovery, although cocaine was found in the boy’s system when he arrived at the hospital, police said.

The birth reportedly occurred in the pouring rain without medical care at about 2 a.m. It’s unclear whether anyone was with Nash during delivery, police Sgt. John Keane said, as Nash has not been cooperative. Her pregnancy was at full term.

Nash is known to frequent the area, but lives in housing projects in Hunters Point.

After giving birth, a bleeding Nash sought help at the Providence Church Shelter at Third Street and McKinnon Avenue. When shelter workers told her they were going to call 911, Nash reportedly declined help and walked away with the baby.

A man who knows the woman from the neighborhood had reportedly been driving on Third Street when he spotted her carrying the baby. The man told police that Nash had handed him the boy and then left.

The man flagged down two police officers who had been responding to the shelter’s 911 call. The officers called for an ambulance, but determined that it would take too long and the child might not survive. One of the officers drove to a hospital while the other one, who is a former paramedic, performed CPR.

Keane said Nash has a rap sheet, though it’s not very extensive. He would not elaborate on her past.

Police are still investigating the relationship between the mother and the man who she gave the child to. Police said they are searching for him, but know his name. Investigators hope witnesses will come forward.

Anyone with information about the bizarre case is asked to call Keane of the Police Department’s special victims unit at (415) 553-9363.